Mars Salazar liked to think he was normal. But that was before he was attacked by a Howler and saved by the Shade Marcus Chase. Saved when he probably should have been killed. But can Marcus protect Mars when a rogue Shade called Cassa is targeting him? And what's Mars to do when the Beast inside is trying to get out?

Yes. The MC is bi. No, this is not a BoyXBoy story. At least I'm pretty sure it's not. Who knows what'll happen. BUT! As of right now, it's not. That probably won't change.

I'm rambling.

"That guy's kinda hot."

Dax Keith threw his olive-skinned friend a disgusted look. "Bro! Not in front of me!" he exclaimed, his English accent faint, but detectable. Mars Salazar grinned wickedly at the fiery haired teen as they walked down the slightly crowded sidewalk to the old abandoned hospital. Dax wanted to try out his new camcorder, hopefully catching something supernatural along the way. Mars got sucked in as official Partner in Crime. "How many times do I have to tell you?"

"I thought people liked having bi best friends," Mars said, fixing his slouchy beanie to where the right amount of his dark shaggy brown hair was exposed. He straightened his jacket before glancing back at the teenaged couple he had seen walk by, his eyes lingering on the feature the girl's skinny jeans ever so kindly made pop. "His girlfriend's pretty freakin' amazing too."

"Okay, that I'll allow," Dax said, his voice full of ignored authority. "And it's only girls that like having gay best friends, not straight dudes! You're not even fully gay!" He shook his head. "Mars, Mars, Mars, there are some things that make me question you," he sighed.

"Aside from my sexuality?" Mars grinned, wagging his pierced eyebrow at his best friend. Dax glared at him, his grey-blue eyes hard.

"Stop it. I'll ditch you, mijo," he said, using the little Spanish he picked up from his friend. "And you'll have to walk home." As he spoke, Mars got a far off look in his strange green eyes. He couldn't resist making his friend feel uncomfortable. It was just so hilarious.

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, shaking his head as if he was getting out of a sort of trance. "It's just, your eyes," he sighed. "I got lost in your ey-" he burst out laughing as Dax pushed him into the building they were walking by, none too gentle. "Dude! You make it way too easy!" he gasped, holding his side that started to ache with his uncontrollable laughter. Once he straightened, Dax glared murder at him, then grinned slyly.

"I know how unbelievably sexy I am, bro, but calm yourself. I play on the other team," he said, popping his nonexistent collar. Mars rolled his eyes.

"Dude, you're not my type," he said, giving his friend a small push. Truth be told, if it wasn't for the fact that the two grew up like brothers, Mars would have thought Dax to be a little cute, with his mischievous grin, that red hair always unkempt and sticking every which way. But now, Mars only saw that loser he got in a fight with in third grade, then shared his sandwich with the next day.

Dax gave him a look of disbelief. "Bitch, please! I'm everyone's type! I'm so fucking sexy, I got straight dicks getting hard when I walk by," he boasted a bit too loudly. Mars raised his pierced eyebrow as his friend winked at a group of girls that happened to walk by. The girls gave him annoyed looks and didn't even take a second glance at him, however one bit her lip when she caught sight of Mars. The boy gave her his signature charmer's smile and she quickly turned away, her face turning a pretty shade of pink. Dax scowled.

"Whores."

Mars shook his head at his friend's failure and inwardly beamed. The way she looked at him had been a nice change. He was used to the disgusted looks he got from parents, uptight girls and their boyfriends. He knew how he looked to them. He was a punk. A no good delinquent that would no doubt end up dying on the already blood-soaked streets of Sanctuary.

Dax was luckier. His dad was respected in his law firm, so his son was guaranteed to get into a good school after high school. His dad was also pretty strict, so Dax was only allowed one lip ring—as opposed to Mars's snake bites—and his skinnies couldn't be ripped. As a result, the nasty looks he got were a bit milder.

The two boys eventually found themselves standing in front of the fenced off, run down old Carter hospital. Once upon a time, it had been a very respected facility, but then the head doctor was accused of killing patients and, well, the rest is understandable.

"Dax, shut up." Mars shook his head. "There's no such thing. People just say that shit to keep kids from doing stupid stuff."

"So, you don't believe in 'Shades?'" Dax made his voice shaky, as if he was Marley's ghost trying to scare the Scrooge out of Mars. The green-eyed boy reached over and pushed his friend.

"They're just urban legends. Just like Howlers and Vampires and Witches that are supposed to be here. No such thing!" He stepped back, bumping into someone. "Oh, balls!" He whirled around to see a dark-haired man scowling. "Sorry, bro, wasn't paying attention," he apologized.

"Yeah, he was too busy being a no fun skeptic," Dax added cheerfully. Mars threw his friend a look of daggers. The man just smirked, his green eyes amused.

"Forget it, kid," he said, starting to walk off. He paused and glanced back at the boy. "And don't be so skeptical about monsters. Just because you haven't seen them doesn't mean they're not there."

That said, the man went on his way, disappearing into the crowd. The boys exchanged looks and Mars frowned.

"Fuck, I've seen monsters," he muttered darkly. "Just not the kind with fangs and fur."

Dax sighed, knowing exactly what his friend was talking about. "Yeah, I know, man." Then, brightly, "Dude, I'm starving. We still got an hour before it gets dark. Let's get some grub."

Mars sighed, knowing Dax was just trying to help, and nodded. "Sure, I've been cravin' a cheeseburger."

"Now you're talking," Dax grinned. Mars laughed and the two started down the street for their favorite burger joint.

By the time the boys got back to the fenced off building, the street was empty, the citizens of Sanctuary holed up in their homes in fear of Howlers and Vampires. Mars thought it was all stupid. There was no such thing as monsters. There was no such thing as Shades, and if there were, those guys were in need of a shrink.

He nodded. "Yeah. Think this backpack is empty?" he demanded, dropping down on the other side with a soft "oof." A tingling pain shot through his legs, but he ignored it. "You coming, mijo?"

Dax made a face and started up the fence. "Hey, you can't call me that, man," he whined. "I'm older."

"So? I'm the Mexican."

"Half-Mexican, emphasis on the half," the red head snapped as he dropped, stumbling. He would have fallen had Mars not caught him.

"Bitch, please!" Mars exclaimed, dropping his backpack to pull out a small camcorder and flashlight. "Don't go hatin' on my natural Latino spice. Skinny little white boys like you wish they could get as much ass as me."

Dax had a sly grin on his face as he took the camcorder from his friend. "If you're talking gay sex, you can keep that ass to yourself."

"Fine. I will."

Dax scowled, more so out of frustration for not bugging his friend than how open he was with his sexuality. Dax could care less that his friend happened to find other boys attractive, as long as he never started hitting on him. Mars never did, so their relationship wasn't tainted like most of Mars's friendships. Dax had been one of the few people who stuck by Mars when his life went to hell. But then, that's what brothers were for, even if they weren't blood.

"Alright, shut up with your ass," Dax snapped, opening the camcorder. "We're filming." Mars rolled his eyes as his friend flipped open the camcorder and started pressing buttons. As Dax muttered to himself, Mars glanced around, pulling his jacket closer around him. He didn't know why, but something felt wrong. As if they shouldn't be there. Above the boys, the moon hung low and red, visible even in the city's light pollution. Perfect night for Howlers. Mars shook his head. No such thing as those kinds of monsters.

"Okay, I got it working," Dax called out, pulling Mars out of his thoughts. The dark-haired boy looked over at his friend and made a face when he saw that the ginger had the camera pointed at him.

"Dax! Not me, you artard," Mars said with a scowl. Dax just rolled his eyes.

"But you're so photogenic," he said with a grin. "And it helps with female viewers," He said simply before panning the camera around to the building. "Alrighty, What're you thinking? Howler or Vampire?"

"Crazy psycho serial killer. That's my guess," Mars said confidently. "Something like Jason. Or that Psycho guy in the Hitchcock movie. But if it was Jason then maybe Jared Padalecki will show up." He paused and smiled to himself. "Man. Jared Padalecki."

"Dude, seriously, stop being gay for, like, five seconds," Dax whined, starting for the old hospital. Mars just grinned and shouldered his bag again as he followed him.

"But it helps with the female viewers," Mars pointed out.

Dax muttered some obscene insult, only succeeding in making his friend laugh as they walked into the ominously empty building.

Marcus Chase stood at the mouth of the alley between the two buildings across the street, wondering what the hell those two boys were doing at the Carter place. The same two he had ran into on the street earlier that evening. They were the only forms of life in the abandoned city, obviously disregarding the all too real rumors of monsters. He didn't know if they were brave or stupid.

Stupid, no doubt.

Still, there was something about the Hispanic looking kid. Something familiar about those strange green eyes, how they were too old for the young face they accompanied. Hardened by the ruthless streets of Sanctuary. The Shade shook his head. Not like he cared. If he went around feeling bad for every punk on the street, he'd never get his job done. Then there would be monsters overrunning the city. That was not something he was okay with.

He looked up, trying to find the moon in the light pollution of the city. When he glanced back at the old hospital, the boys were gone, already inside the building. He smirked, pulling his fedora down over against the icy February winds, and started to turn away, but a movement at the corner caught his attention. He frowned as a man jumped the fence as the boys had. The man glanced around nervously before taking off his jacket off. Marcus clenched his jaw when the man started to deform, change into something from hell.

A Howler.

He would have left it alone, but he suddenly remembered the boys. The Howler wouldn't hesitate to kill them. They'd get slaughtered. He'd seen it before and it wasn't pretty.

"Damn," he cursed as the Howler, in his true behemoth form, ran into the Carter place, a demonic roar filling the air.

And the night had started out so well.

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